


Sword Art Online: Asunization

by disasterbiKirito



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Alicization Arc (Sword Art Online), Canon Rewrite, Except Asuna gets thrown in instead of Kirito, F/M, I'll update the tags and warnings as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25494790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/pseuds/disasterbiKirito
Summary: When Asuna wakes up in a strange new world that she's never seen, she's got to do everything in her power to get back to the real world.or- the Alicization rewrite where Asuna is the one put into the STL instead of Kirito.
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 40
Kudos: 86





	1. Underworld

The first thought that came to her was that she was definitely _not_ in her room.

The smell wasn’t right; the cherry-blossom scent of her room had been replaced with the unmistakable smell of nature. She stretched out with her hands to feel long blades of grass running between her fingers. Next, she listened; she could make out the sound of wind running through the trees above her, of birds chirping, and of rushing water somewhere nearby. All in all, it was peaceful, and she struggled to fight the temptation to fall back asleep.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Above her were long tree branches, and beyond them was a brilliant blue sky with white clouds lazily passing by. Her eyes watered from the sudden light, and she reached up to wipe them with the back of her hand. After a few seconds passed, she sat up and took in her surroundings.

It seemed like she’d fallen asleep in the middle of a forest; dark green patches of grass covered the ground around her, light flowers popping out of the grass here and there. Around her was a dense layer of moss-covered trees that stretched as far as her eyes could see.

“Where am I…?” she wondered aloud.

A strong gust of wind rushed by in response, tugging at her long chestnut brown hair.

She ran her hands through the loose strands, thinking hard. No matter how strongly she tried, she couldn’t think of how she’d gotten here. Did she sleepwalk? Or even worse—could she be suffering from some sort of memory loss?

Her name was Asuna Yuuki. She was eighteen years old. She lived in Setagaya with her mother, father, and older brother. She let out a quick sigh of relief at how easily she had remembered those details. She thought hard about the last thing she could remember. She could remember the night before she had gone to the Dicey Café to talk with Shino-non and Kirito about GGO—

“Kirito—”

She said his name out loud, resting her forehead in her hand.

Memories flooded her head. Memories of Aincrad, ALO, and GGO. Kirito was the person she’d put the most trust in, and she knew that she could always count on him no matter what. She loved him with all of her heart. Her eyes stung as an unbearable feeling of total loneliness washed over her, so she pushed the thought aside to focus on the current problem.

Looking down, she made note of the clothes she was wearing. She wore a cotton shirt that was dyed dark red, and pale white cotton pants. She certainly didn’t own any clothes like these—not in the real world at least.

“Ah…” she murmured to herself.

Was she in a game? Had she fallen asleep mid-dive? Why hadn’t her Amusphere logged her out? Her surroundings seemed way too real to be a game, but, just in case, she quickly swiped her hand down in front of her, to no effect. That ruled that out.

She thought long and hard again about the last thing she could remember.

She had met with Shino and Kirito to talk about a GGO tournament that Shino-non wanted them both to participate in, and when she’d arrived, they had been talking about Kirito’s new job, testing something called a “Soul Translator” that was the next step in Full-Dive technology—

“Technology that blocked your memories of the real world!” she said to herself with a start.

“Kirito?!” she called out again suddenly.

She racked her brain for the name of the man he had been working for—

“Mr. Kikuoka?!” she called out, to the sky this time. “If I’m in the STL, there might be something wrong here!”

Once again, she was met with no response.

She looked back down at the ground in disappointment. Small bugs crawled in the dirt beneath her. If this _was_ the STL, it must’ve run on an engine that was much better than the Amusphere.

Getting to her feet, she ran through the possibilities.

First, she could have fallen asleep mid dive, but her Amusphere should have logged her out after a few hours if this was the case. Second, this could be the Soul Translator that Kirito had spoken with her about, but if it was, how and why had she been put in it, and why could she remember some things from the real world? Third was the horrifying possibility that this was, in fact, the real world, and she was the victim of a crime or a prank, but she couldn’t think of anywhere around Japan that looked quite like this. Then, a fourth possibility popped into her head; could this be an alternate reality, or even an afterlife?

She shook her head quickly at the thought; she didn’t want to consider that possibility. She closed her eyes and thought more about what had happened after leaving the café.

It was raining, and they had said their goodbye to Shino-non around eight that evening. Kirito had offered to walk her home, and she had accepted gratefully. They got on the train to Setagaya, and at the end of the line they had walked along the sidewalk towards her house when Kirito had stopped suddenly, revealing that he was thinking of going to college in America, and then, with nerves of steel, had asked for her to go with him. She didn’t need to think twice about her answer; wherever he went, she would always be by his side.

Tears threatened the corners of her eyes as she remembered his relieved smile, but to her dismay, the memory faded there.

Wiping at her eyes again, she got to her feet. She needed to find answers.

She looked around in every direction, unsure of which way to start looking, when she was suddenly painfully aware of how much she missed her other half. For the last two years, they had tackled most of their problems together. She pushed that thought to the back of her head once again. She took a deep breath, and was startled at how dreadfully dry her mouth was. With that thought, along with the idea that a river could mean people, she began walking towards the sound of flowing water.

* * *

The woods were dark and mysterious, not unlike the forest on Floor 22 of Aincrad, but Asuna pushed onward. The limbs above became so dense that barely any light from the sun was able to peek through. The sound of birds chirping had died down considerably, replaced by the sound of buzzing insects and the occasional cry of an animal nearby. With no obvious way to defend herself, she could only hope that they would keep their distance.

She walked for twenty minutes before she could see that an abundance of light had appeared in the distance ahead of her, and the sudden increase in sound told her that the river was close. Her thirst pushed her to a faster pace, and with a quick jog she came to the clearing.

A quick glance revealed a ten-foot decline into a thin stream of crystal-clear water. With little hesitation, she slid down the bank and plunged into it. She drank greedily, and in hindsight if this was the real world, it probably wasn’t safe to drink straight from the river. But as the liquid cooled her parched throat, she decided it was worth it.

Once she’d had her fill, she scooped up a handful of water and examined it closely. It was beautiful, virtually colorless aside from the slight hint of blue. She gently blew air towards her hands and watched the water ripple slightly. If this was a game, it couldn’t possibly be on her Amusphere; she’d never seen water this detailed before in any game she’d dived into. She was fairly certain that she could eliminate that possibility, but she was still no closer to figuring out exactly what was going on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud, sudden thud that didn’t sound far from her. She instinctively reached for her rapier at her waist and cursed that she had no such weapon on her.

After a few seconds, the sound came to her again, and she focused in on it. She could tell it was coming from what she assumed was north, and from the mechanical, steady way that it repeated every few seconds, she was fairly certain that it wasn’t an animal, but another person.

Slowly, she pulled herself out of the water and began creeping upstream towards the noise. As she walked, she weighed her options. What if what was making the noise was dangerous? If they were, could she overpower them with her hands alone?

She lost track of how long she had been walking, but she noticed the sound was pulling her back west into the forest, away from the stream. She also realized that the sound wasn’t quite constant; every once in a while, it would stop for a few minutes before starting back up again. This was enough to verify that the noise had to be coming from a person; a woodcutter, perhaps?

She silently passed by the now familiar bugs and lizards, and after what must have been another fifty or so strikes, the sound came to a stop as she came to another clearing in the woods.

She audibly gasped at the sight in front of her.

The clearing was nearly triple the size of the one she’d woken up in, but instead of the lush green grass, it was nothing but dirt and patches of green moss here and there, and at the center of the clearing was the biggest tree that she had ever seen in her life.

It had to have been around fifteen feet in width alone, standing straight as could be, and so tall that she couldn’t see the top. Unlike the trees around it, the bark was so dark that it was nearly black. She could tell this was no normal tree; the size and the placement in the clearing gave it an unnatural feel. She shifted her gaze from the trunk back to the large, thick roots that looped around each other before dipping under the ground in all directions.

She looked back up and slowly stepped forward in awe, wanting to get closer and examine such a wonder. She found herself tripping over the roots, until she finally got within arms-length, and she cautiously placed the palm of her hand against the bark.

She brought her eyes back down to her hand just in time to see a young man peering around the tree in the corner of her eye. She let out a quick yelp and stumbled backwards, once again reaching for the rapier that she knew wasn’t there.

Thankfully, this person didn’t seem hostile, or even cautious. He just stared at her.

He looked to be around her age, he was only slightly taller than her, with flaxen brown hair and dark green eyes. He wore the same cotton shirt that she did, except his was dyed a bright blue color opposed to her dark red. He had light skin with gentle features, and he wore a slightly puzzled expression.

As she decided what to say to the young man, she realized that she still didn’t know what language she needed to ask in, but before she could dwell on that for long, he spoke.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?” he asked, in almost perfect Japanese.

She was as stunned as she had been when she had first stumbled into the clearing.

For some reason, she hadn’t expected to hear him speak in her native language. It was strange to hear it coming from the mouth of someone she would have guessed was of European descent. It was almost like one of those Japanese-dubbed superhero movies that Kirito was so fond of.

He tilted his head a bit as she continued to stare, and she ran through her options. If this was the STL, then this boy could possibly be another player with memories from the real world just like her; he could be a player with his memories blocked, which, according to Kirito, was the correct way to dive, or he could be an NPC. The first option would be the easiest, but the other options presented more problems. If she showered him in questions, he could get confused and refuse to help her at all.

“My name is Asuna,” she said carefully, “and I was coming from that direction when I got lost.”

The boy scrunched his nose, making him look even more puzzled for a moment.

“You mean, you came from south of the forest? From Zakkaria?”

“ _Zakkaria,”_ she thought to herself.

She couldn’t remember ever hearing a name like that in all of her geography lessons. She did her best not to look too panicked as she continued.

“Um, no. I didn’t come from there. I actually don’t know where I came from. I just woke up in the forest about an hour ago.”

She was hoping he would catch this hint from her and give her a response like, _“Oh, an error? Hang on, here’s how we contact the GM,”_ but instead he gave her the same shocked response.

“Wait, you don’t know where you came from? Not even what town you live in?”

She confirmed this with a slight nod of her head.

“I can’t believe it,” he continued. “I’ve heard the stories, but I never thought I’d meet a lost child of Vector!”

“Lost child of— Vector?” she asked him.

“Is that not what they call it where you’re from, Miss Asuna?” he asked. “When someone disappears and then reappears in a forest or field, that’s what the villagers call them. The god of darkness, Vector, kidnaps people as a prank, steals their memories and places them in a far-off land.”

“Oh, then maybe that is what I am,” she said quietly, looking down at the tree roots surrounding her feet.

She found this response far too natural to be another player doing a roleplay bit, so she decided to be more direct.

“I’d like to log out!” she said suddenly.

“Log…out?” he asked curiously. “What did you say?”

That settled that; it didn’t matter if he was a player with his memories blocked or an NPC. She wouldn’t get any help on that front from him. She tried not to look too disappointed.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure where that came from. I just meant that I need a place to stay.”

“Right,” he said, putting his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “My village is just north of here, but we never see any visitors, so there isn’t an inn. But, if we explain your situation, I’m sure Sister Azalia at the church could take you in for few days.”

“I see,” she said.

With any luck, a village may have a console of some sort that she could use to figure out what was going on.

“You said just north of here? I suppose I’ll head that way and speak to— Sister Azalia did you say?”

She looked around the tree to the north, and there was a small dirt path leading that way. She started to walk in that direction when he suddenly waved to get her attention.

“Wait! There are guards in the village, and it may be difficult for you to explain your situation and get in if you go alone. I’ll go with you to help.”

She smiled at him.

"That would be a big help. Thank you…” she started, before realizing she hadn’t gotten his name.

“Oh, where are my manners?” he asked apologetically. “My name is Eugeo.”

He extended his right hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Asuna.”

“Just Asuna is fine,” she said, as she took his hand in hers.

His grip was stronger than his build would suggest, and he looked at her with that same apologetic look from before.

“I’m sorry though, I can’t accompany you yet, there’s still work to be done…” he said, casting his eyes over at the massive tree.

“Work?” she asked him curiously.

“Yes, I’m on my break.”

He led her back around the tree, and she could see a small cloth rolled out on the ground with three pieces of bread on it.

“I’m just waiting on my partner to get back with some water from the river,” he explained before sitting down on one of the large tree roots. “If you don’t mind waiting until we’re done, I can go with you to the church and help to explain everything.”

She thought hard to herself. She didn’t want to waste time here, but if waiting meant she would have an easier time getting into the village to look for answers, she would have to wait.

“That’s okay. I can wait. I certainly appreciate your help, Eugeo,” she said, sitting down on the root opposite him.

He offered her one of the rolls off of the cloth.

“Oh, no thank you I’m fine.” she said instinctively, waving her hands in front of her.

She didn’t want to impose on his meal. But when he pushed the roll closer to her, her stomach growled involuntarily.

“I’m sure that you’re hungry. If you just woke up, you probably haven’t eaten anything all day!” he said. He must have sensed her hesitation, because he added, “I know it doesn’t seem right to say as I offer you one, but I’m not the biggest fan of these, and this is an extra anyways!”

With that she gratefully accepted, her stomach growling even louder.

“But hold on just a second,” he said as she went to take a small bite. “The bread should still be good, but it never hurts to double check.”

He put his left index and middle fingers above his own piece of bread, and traced a small _S_ in the air. She watched carefully as he tapped the roll, and a translucent purple menu appeared in front of him.

 _“That settles it!”_ she thought. _“This isn’t the real world; this is definitely VR.”_

With that thought, some of the stress from earlier lifted off of her shoulders. She had been fairly certain this was a virtual world, but the slight chance had worried her.

She copied his motion from earlier, taking her left index and middle finger, tracing the symbol before tapping lightly on the roll. A purple window appeared in front of her as well. The window was simple; it had just one line that read _Durability: 7_ on it, she assumed this must be the rolls life span.

“See, there’s plenty of life left, so eat up!” he said with a smile. “That wouldn’t be the case if this were the Summer though…”

She wasn’t sure what to make of the look he made then, but her stomach let out a low growl once again, so she quickly took a bite out of the bread. She immediately understood why Eugeo said he wasn’t a fan; the toughness was almost unbearable, but she didn’t want to seem rude, so she continued to chew slowly.

He gave her an embarrassed smile.

“I know, it’s bad isn’t it?”

She quickly shook her head in response.

“No! It’s—It’s great! Thank you so much!”

He didn’t seem convinced, but he went back to chewing his own piece when she noticed the sound of leaves crunching behind her. She quickly got to her feet.

“It’s okay!” Eugeo noted, pulling her attention back to him. “It’s just my partner.”

She peered back into the dark forest just as a familiar head of messy black hair poked its way into the clearing.

“I’m back Eugeo!” shouted a lower voice that caused her heart to leap up into her throat.

“K—Kirito?!” she practically shouted.

He stopped in his tracks and gave her a curious look.

Seeing him here with her caused a new feeling of relief to wash over her. But this raised more questions than answers. Why was he here? What did Eugeo mean when he called him his partner? As far as she could tell they were in the STL, and they must have dived in together, why were they separated?

“Wait,” Eugeo said, bringing her wandering thoughts back down. “Do you two know each other?”

Kirito continued to give her a puzzled look before responding to the question.

“No, I’ve never met her before,” he said, before looking back to her directly. “Seems you know my name, but I don’t know yours. You are?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm aware that this was painfully close to how it actually went at the beginning of the arc, but after playing around with it for a while I couldn't think of any other way for the story to start, but while I'll probably stick to most of the *major* plot points, rest assured there will be plenty of things that drift away from canon as it goes!


	2. Kirito, Eugeo, and the Demon Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm sorry that this didn't come sooner. I bounced back and forth about how this chapter should go for a bit before deciding on this. I hope you enjoy!

“What…?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I asked for your name, Miss—?” he repeated, before scooting around her to pass the water skin to Eugeo.

“It’s Asuna…” she said, with tears threatening the corners of her eyes.

_His memories must be blocked_ , she told herself before her imagination could run wild.

But before she could get ahold of herself, the Kirito from her dream months prior echoed in her head.

 _“Who are you?”_ _he had asked before turning his back to her._

“Asuna, you said? It’s nice to meet you!” he said, oblivious to her inner turmoil. “But how did you know my name?”

Eugeo gratefully accepted the water as they all sat back down to finish lunch.

“I’m not sure…” she said carefully.

“She’s a Lost Child of Vector,” Eugeo explained for him. “She said she woke up in the forest to the south.”

Eugeo turned his attention back to her.

“Maybe where you’re from, you know someone that looks similar to him with the same name?” he offered.

“I’m not sure; maybe that’s it…” she responded, before taking another small bite of bread, chewing thoughtfully as she did so.

She took a long look at Kirito. There was no doubt that it was him. Aside from being more muscular, he looked almost identical to his appearance in real life. He wore a dark blue shirt and dark grey pants. She watched as he viciously attacked his lunch.

“Goddess, Kirito, slow down!” Eugeo said with a sigh. “You’re going to choke! There’s plenty of life left, we just checked.”

“But I’m so hun—” he started before Eugeo cut him off.

“Chew your food, Kirito! Where are your manners?!” he said with a heavy sigh. “Honestly…”

Asuna couldn’t help but giggle at the exchange, and after a few seconds of silent chewing, Kirito continued.

“We’ve been at this all day!” he said, taking a long drink of water.

“Oh, that’s right,” she said. “You said you had work to do. What exactly are you doing? Cutting down trees?”

Kirito laughed at her question.

“I guess you’re not wrong!” he said. “But in the seven years that we’ve had this Calling, we’ve never actually cut down a tree!”

“What?!” she asked incredulously.

_Seven years_ , he’d said. Just how long had he been in this dive? She knew that the Soul Translator could accelerate time, but seven years? Doing her best not to look concerned, she thought about everything Kirito had told her about the STL. Were there other functions he didn’t know about? Could it implant memories as easy as it suppressed them? Or had he really been here that long? These were things she wouldn’t know until she could get to a console.

“Yes,” Eugeo answered while Kirito took another bite of his lunch. “This tree behind us is called the Gigas Cedar in the sacred tongue, but the locals call it the Devil Tree.”

_Sacred tongue? Gigas Cedar?_ she thought to herself.

He gave her a small smile that seemed to indicate he knew she was confused.

“The reason that they call it that is that it sucks up all of Terraria’s blessing from all around it. That’s why only moss grows beneath it and the surrounding tress don’t grow as tall.”

She wasn’t sure who Terraria was, but the mythical feeling that she got when she first walked into the clearing had been correct. She nodded in understanding, and he continued.

“The people in our village want to clear the trees and plant new barley fields. But as long as this tree is here, nothing will grow, so it needs to be cut down. However, the trunk is wickedly tough; a single swing from a normal axe chips the blade and ruins it. So, they saved up enough money to have this Dragonbone Axe sent from the Central Cathedral.”

He motioned to the side of the tree. Leaning against the tree was a pale white axe with dark leather wrapped around the handle.

“Then, they assigned dedicated carvers to strike the tree every single day; that’s us,” he finished with a sigh.

She looked at the tree, there was a huge gash in its side about a quarter of the way through.

“Wait, you’ve both been chopping at this for seven years and that’s as far as you’ve gotten?” she asked.

This time they both laughed at her.

“As if!” Kirito said rather loudly. “If we had gotten that far in seven years, we’d probably feel a bit better. But we’re seventh generation carvers! Our ancestors have been cutting at this tree for three hundred years!”

“This tree was here when we were born, and it will be here when we die,” Eugeo said as he finished his piece of bread.

She thought back to all of the other worlds she’d been in; in most of them, the developers had put in NPCs to work long tedious jobs such as this to give the games a more natural feel. But this? The people that Kirito worked for had placed this tree here, but she couldn’t begin to guess why.

With a quick stretch, Kirito quickly got to his feet and started to head towards the tree.

“I’ll take the next few rounds Eugeo!” he said with a smile. “You did all the work while I went to get the water!”

She watched as he grabbed the axe with one hand before walking over to the cut in the side. He spread his legs and lowered his stance before gripping the handle with both hands. His body tensed before spinning the axe backwards, and with a grunt it shot back through the air. The blade of the axe met the center of the cut with a loud _THWAK!_ before he brought the axe back to its previous position.

He continued with mechanical precision and speed, and she felt a slight blush brush her cheeks as his shirt rode up slightly to reveal a more chiseled physique than she was used to seeing. Focusing again on the strikes, the whole motion was so smooth that it almost looked like a sword skill.

He made fifty strikes in total before pausing and yanking the axe out of the tree, heaving a deep breath as he set it down at his side again. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and gave her a smile.

“How many strikes do you need to do in a day?” she asked him, standing quickly before going to inspect the gash in the tree.

“Four thousand,” he said, taking another deep breath before turning back to the tree. “Two thousand in the morning, two thousand in the evening. We do our best to keep the workload even every day.”

“I see,” she said. “Say, Kirito? Would you mind if I helped you both today?”

“What?” he asked, a hint of shock in his voice.

“You both gave me part of your lunch; it’s only fair that I pull my weight!” she responded with a grin.

Eugeo looked at her with a stunned expression from his seat on the tree root.

“Well, I guess there’s no rule saying that you can’t help us with our Calling, but you’ll be surprised at how hard it is—”

“You never know until you try though!” Kirito interrupted with a laugh. “And believe me, there’s no way you could mess it up as bad as Alice did—”

He stopped himself short before looking to the ground.

She watched carefully as he slowly looked up at Eugeo, who was also looking at the ground around his feet.

“Alice? Who’s that?” she asked to break the tense silence.

“N-No one…” Kirito muttered before pepping back up again, offering her the axe. “Here, take your best shot!”

She looked over to see that Eugeo still wasn’t looking at either of them, but he was instead looking off into the woods away from them.

“Okay…” she said, taking the axe from him.

She mimicked the stance that Kirito had taken moments before and carefully lifted the axe into a swinging position. Despite being made of bone, the axe was much heavier than she had anticipated. She pivoted her hips one way, before swinging them back the other quickly.

The head of the axe skipped on a spot two or three inches from the center of the cut, sparks flew, and she dropped the axe with a cry as the vibrations echoed through her hands.

Kirito let out a burst of laughter as she sank to the ground, cradling her hands to her chest. She gave him a pointed look.

“That hurt! You shouldn’t laugh!” she yelled at him.

But with a glance the other way she could see that even Eugeo had his lips ticked up in a slight smirk, obviously fighting the urge to laugh with him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Kirito said, still laughing. “It’s just that you put way too much tension into your shoulders and hips. You’ve got to relax your whole body…”

He wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye.

"How can I explain?" he wondered aloud before helping her back to her feet. "Here, let me show you."

He put the axe back into her hands before guiding her back to the tree. She got back into the swinging position before he stopped her and moved her right elbow in towards her body. She was ready to swing when he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Here, you get more torque this way,” he explained as he put his hands over hers and guided her through the swinging motion.

Her face felt hot again as she felt his arms flex through the movement. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice as he stepped back and prompted her to try again.

She focused hard on trying to mimic his instructions exactly. She twisted her hips right before swinging with all of her might back the other way once again. Unfortunately, in her concentration she forgot to aim entirely.

_THUNK!_

The axe smacked dully against the bark of the tree a few inches above the deep cut, but she didn’t suffer from the same jolt in her wrists. She put the axe back down, looking back to Kirito and expecting him to laugh again, but this time he had an impressed look on his face.

“That was actually pretty good, Asuna!” he exclaimed. “But that time, you focused too much on the axe. Try looking at the center of the cut as you swing. Try again!”

Her next few swings were also weak but improved with repetition, and on her eleventh try, the axe finally struck dead center, producing the same clear ring that had led her here.

At that point, she switched with Kirito and watched as he perfectly struck the tree fifty times before handing the axe off to Eugeo, and after a number of passes between the three of them, she noticed the sun starting to fall along the tree line to the west.

“Fifty!” she yelled out before dropping the axe and putting her hands on her head to catch her breath.

“There, that makes two thousand,” Eugeo said, handing her the large waterskin.

“Really?” she asked before taking a long swig. “Already?”

“Yep!” Kirito said from his seat along the cedar’s root. “You’re actually really good at this, and you made our jobs much easier today!”

“I don’t know…” she said shyly. “I don’t think I made a perfect fifty that entire time. It feels like I probably just held you both back.”

“Nonsense,” Eugeo said. “We told you, we won’t have this tree cut down in our lifetimes, and it’s going to regrow half of the life we took away today overnight.”

“Here, come look at this,” Kirito said, motioning for her to come stand beside him.

“Kirito,” Eugeo said with a sigh. “You know we’re not supposed to look at that—”

But Kirito had already held up his left hand, made the sign with his two fingers and tapped on the black bark. She peered over his shoulder to get a better look. In bold letters it read _228,410_ _._ She let out a groan.

“That’s only about a hundred lower than what we had it at when I checked last month,” he said with a groan of his own. “So, you see, we’ll be lucky if this is under two hundred thousand by the time we’re done with it. A little less progress this evening won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

“Thanks for helping and waiting for us Asuna,” Eugeo said from behind them. “Are you ready to go to the village?”

As they walked down the path to their village, Kirito and Eugeo told her about a variety of things. Their predecessor was a man named Garitta, who was apparently a master at swinging the Drangonbone Axe. The other people their age thought that their Calling was easy, which Kirito rolled his eyes at. She listened intently as the forest opened ahead of them, replaced by a large amount of orange sunlight.

To their right was a small wooden shed that Eugeo walked over to and pulled open.

She looked over his shoulder to see several normal axes, ropes, and buckets crammed messily into the shed. He stood the Dragonbone Axe up among them and closed the door again.

“You should lock that right? That’s a very important axe!” she asked quickly when she realized he was immediately heading back for the trail.

They both looked surprised.

"Lock? But why?" Eugeo asked.

“Somebody could steal it!” she responded.

“Why would anyone do that? The Taboo Index forbids it. You remember that at least, right Asuna?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

_Taboo Index?_

Neither of them had mentioned anything like that all day, but she assumed it must be a code of laws that the developers had put in place.

“Oh…of course,” she said with a quick nod, and they continued their walk towards the village before another thought occurred to her.

“You mentioned guards before; if the Taboo Index forbids crime, what are they here for?” she asked them.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Eugeo asked in response. “They protect us from the forces of darkness.”

She gave Kirito a confused look.

“See up there?” he asked, pointing ahead of them.

Beyond the fields, windmills, and small houses that made up the village, there was a line of snow-white mountains that continued east and west as far as she could see.

“Those are the End Mountains,” Kirito explained. “On the other side is the Dark Territory…”

On Kirito’s other side, Eugeo tensed and looked away from them both.

“There are orcs, goblins, and Dark Knights that live on the other side. They’re held back by the Integrity Knights, but occasionally, some slip through the mountains.”

She noticed Eugeo ball up his fist at his side before quickly letting it go.

“That’s why we need good old Zink to protect us,” he said with a bit of sarcasm in his tone. “But according to the Axiom Church, every thousand years the armies of darkness cross the mountains, and when that happens the knights will lead the village men-at-arms, sentinels, and the Imperial Army in a fight with the monsters.”

He finished with a pump of his fist.

As they walked through the gate, she looked around at all of the houses that surrounded her.

“Which one is yours?” she asked.

“That was the South Gate,” Eugeo explained. “My house is near the West Gate; you can’t see it from here.”

"And I live in the church, where you'll be staying!" Kirito said cheerfully.

He motioned towards one of the taller stone buildings towards the middle of town.

"The church? Why do you live there?" she asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm an orphan, my parents passed away when I was very young. A plague swept through the village and took the lives of many people. There are seven of us that live there, and Sister Azalia has taken great care of us," he explained.

"I see, are you sure that I won't be a burden?" she asked softly.

“Of course not,” he responded. “Sister Azalia is a wonderful person, she took me in without question. I’m sure she’ll take you in too!”

* * *

After waving goodbye to Eugeo, Kirito led her to the church where, just as Kirito had predicted, Asuna was welcomed with open arms.

“Here you go! Here’s a pillow and some blankets!” Kirito said as he handed her a large bundle of cloth. “There are more in the wardrobe just outside if you need more. Morning prayers are at six, and breakfast is at seven. Make sure you’re awake for those or Sister Azalia will send Selka after you!”

He turned to leave, and she scrambled to come up with a reason to get him to stay.

“Selka?” she asked innocently. “Who’s that?”

He turned back and sat on the bed across from hers.

“She’s the nun in training and Alice’s sister,” he said quietly.

There was that name again: Alice. Now that Eugeo was gone, she decided to press for answers.

“Alice…who is that? When you said her name out in the forest, it got awfully tense,” she said carefully.

He quickly got up and poked his head out, looking both ways before shutting the door behind him and sitting back down.

“People don’t like to talk about her, especially Eugeo,” he explained. “When Eugeo and I were younger, we had a friend that used to visit us out at the Gigas Cedar every day. Her name was Alice.”

He looked away. The light from the torches on the wall made his features seem dark, and he ran his hand through his hair before continuing.

“She was our age; we played together all the time, and after we received our Calling, she was sure to bring us lunch every day. But six years ago, when we were eleven, an Integrity Knight came to the village and took her away to the central city for breaking the Taboo Index.

“On one of our days of rest, Alice, Eugeo, and I decided to journey into the End Mountains in search of ice to extend the life of the food in the village. We got lost and came out on the other side facing the Dark Territory. The Taboo Index forbids us from stepping foot in that land, and while Eugeo and I didn't, Alice tripped, and the tips of her fingers landed on the other side."

She could sense frustration in his voice as he went on.

“Just for that, an Integrity Knight came and tied her to his dragon in front of the entire village and I—I tried to stop him with the axe. But when I pushed my way through the crowd, something forced me back down, and Eugeo could only stand there; whether out of fear or some other force, he couldn’t move. He blames himself even more than I do; that’s why he reacted the way he did today.”

He looked down at the ground, and she could see small tears dripping to the ground below him. She instinctively reached out and took his hands in hers.

“Kirito…it wasn’t your fault. Do you…know what happened to her?” she asked.

He didn’t look up at her but shook his head softly.

“The knight said that she would be questioned and sentenced…but we have no idea what her sentence was,” he said quietly. “We tried asking her father, the village elder once, and he told us we should just assume that she’s dead. But I don’t believe that for a second. Alice is still alive out there somewhere.”

“What was Alice’s Calling?” she asked him.

“She was the nun-in-training before Selka. When everything happened, Selka was quickly chosen to take her sister’s place. No one told her why Alice was taken for her sake, but I think she’s been given enough information to fill in the gaps. Either way, she never brings her up, and nobody else has either. It’s like Selka never had a sister.”

Suddenly, there was a loud clang outside the door followed by light footsteps rushing away from us. We both peered out of the door, but nobody was there.

“I should probably let you rest; Sister Azalia said you’d be spending your days with Eugeo and I until your memory returned,” he said softly.

He reached for the door.

“Kirito, wait!” she said before she could stop herself. “Do you think that you could… sleep in the bed here across from me?”

He seemed stunned by her question before he gave her a small smile.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “As long as we’re not in the same bed, we’re not breaking any Taboos.”

He stepped outside to grab himself a set of pillows and blankets before laying in the small bed. She laid down in the soft sheets across from him, and the day’s work immediately caught up with her. Kirito reached up and put the lamp out before whispering good night to her.

Despite how tired she was, as she laid there, her mind raced with all that had happened that day.

_What does all this mean?_ she asked herself silently. From what she could tell, there wasn’t a single person in the entire village that fit her description of an NPC. Everyone that she had met had had realistic emotions, conversations, and unique body movements, just as Eugeo did. Everyone she had met was “real,” not an automated response character.

But according to Kirito, there weren’t that many functioning STLs. So, how were these people here? Were they even people? Artificial intelligence bounced around in her head. She’d seen what Yui could do, but she wasn’t perfect like these people were. Occasionally, she would respond to them by saying that a word wasn’t in her database. Every answer she gave was a set call and response.

Across the room, Kirito had started to snore softly. She looked at him again. He had already kicked a leg out from under the blanket and extended an arm out over the side of the bed. Smiling, she carefully took his hand in hers. These were all questions for another day; for now, she could sleep. She closed her eyes, and the last thought she had before sleep took her was that at least they were here together, and together, they could overcome anything.


	3. Blue Rose Sword

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I know that it's been a few months since I've updated, I had some stuff come up in real life that delayed this so much. I'll elaborate at the end of the chapter. :)

The next morning, she was relieved to find that she had woken up a few minutes before Kirito and carefully untangled her fingers from his. After a yawn and a quick “good morning,” he made his way back to his room to give her the privacy she needed to change.

With no change of clothes, she had to resort to a quick smell check on the dark red tunic she’d worn yesterday, and was pleased to find that there was no sweat smell after all of the hard work she’d done. Her mind wandered to Kirito’s outfit; she’d seen a few cuts and holes in his shirt, and she wondered what would cause an item to break down that way. Using her left hand, she quickly brought up the item’s Stacia Window, the numbers showed _44/45_. She concluded that an item must wear down as its life decreased. Humming to herself in agreement, she slipped it over her head, pulling her long hair out from the back of her collar so that it could fall freely down her back, and then made her way downstairs.

After a short worship service and a quick breakfast, they made their way out to the center of the square right outside.

“What time do you usually meet?” she asked, looking around curiously.

“He should be here in just a few minutes,” he responded with a smile.

Rulid may have been considered small, but it was certainly still busy. People passed quickly to her left and right, presumably off to perform their Calling for the day. Some stopped for a quick word with Kirito, and some asked Asuna for her name and where she had come from. She kept hoping one of them would be a system administrator so that she could get some kind of answers. But the more she smiled and greeted them, the more she was filled with dread. There was likely no observer in this small village; she would have to take Kirito and make her way to a bigger city.

 _Zakkaria._ That was her best bet.

At breakfast, Kirito had explained that a trip to Zakkaria was a week-long journey on horseback, and she was sure it would be two or three times longer than that on foot. She had no money for a horse or supplies, and she lacked any knowledge of this world beyond what she’d seen. She needed a guide to get her there. Kirito and Eugeo were perfect for that, but based off of what they had said yesterday, there was no way they could accompany her because of their Calling. So, she would just have to find a way to cut that tree down.

“Good morning Kirito, Asuna!” came Eugeo’s voice from the west path.

“Morning!” Kirito yelled back with a wave.

As they made their way down the path to the south, she continued to be lost in thought. At some point they stopped along the path to greet a little elderly lady in an apron outside of what looked like the village’s bakery, and as they passed under the southern arch and headed out towards the woods, they were stopped by a young man with a sword.

“Hey you! So, you’re the ‘Lost Child of Vector’ that everyone’s talking about, eh?” he said smugly. “Pretty, aren’t you?”

Both Kirito and Eugeo took a half step in front of her, shielding her from the young man’s gaze. He looked to be their age, but he was about half a foot taller than Eugeo, with dark brown hair that spiked in the front and a dark green tunic.

“What do you want, Zink?” Kirito asked, making no effort to hide his annoyance.

“Just thought I’d come take a look,” he said, putting one hand on the end of his sword, the other on his hip. “I’m the new head guard after all; shouldn’t I know about everyone that comes into my village?”

He turned his attention back to her.

“Imagine my disappointment when I came to work this morning and heard that such a beautiful Lost Child of Vector came through our gates while I was off duty.”

Doing her best to ignore the way that his eyes wandered, she held out her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. “My name is Asuna.”

He glanced down at her outstretched hand before taking a step towards her, he took her hand in his, pulling her in close so fast that she was worried he might headbutt her.

“So, you remember your name. Can you remember anything else?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “Do you remember your Calling? It couldn’t have been worse than what these losers do all day!”

Both boys clenched their fists at their side as he continued.

“A pretty little thing like you, I bet you were a chef, or just a housewife—”

“Swordswoman!” she said suddenly, yanking her hand out of his. “I was a swordswoman!”

Three pairs of eyes snapped towards her, causing her cheeks to burn slightly.

“Give me your sword, I’ll prove it to you!” she challenged.

The tense silence was broken by Zink letting out a bellowing laugh. He took a couple of steps towards her again.

“A swordswoman?!” he asked between breaths. “A girl your size? I bet you couldn’t even lift my sword!”

He unlatched his belt and offered the blade to her.

“But I’ll humor you; show me your skills swordswoman,” he said mockingly.

She snatched the sword out of his grip.

“Take a strike at that fence post there,” he said, motioning to his right.

She unsheathed the sword before tossing it between her hands a few times. It was much heavier than the rapier she usually wielded, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.

She casually stepped over to the post, swinging the sword idly left and right, testing its balance. She turned to see a concerned look on Eugeo’s face, but Kirito looked at her with the same confident smirk she’d come to love. He nodded in her direction, and with a quick smile back she turned her attention back to the post.

Planting her left foot firmly, she swung her arm back before swinging back across her body. The sword shone bright blue as she effortlessly cut through the wood at a slight angle.

_That was a light-effect!_ she thought to herself. _There are sword skills here!_

The top portion of the post fell to the ground and she spun around with a smile. Both Eugeo and Zink’s jaws hung open in surprise, and Kirito applauded loudly from between them.

“That was awesome!” he yelled excitedly. “Maybe you were a sentinel in a big city or something! I’ve never seen a skill like that!”

She walked back towards them, slowly sheathing the sword again before tossing it to Zink, who yelped as he caught it.

“Seen enough?” she asked him with a smirk.

He let out a low growl before strapping his sword back into place.

“Get to work, losers,” he said before quickly walking away from them.

* * *

“Seriously, how did you do that?!” Kirito asked for the third time as she finished her second set of swings.

She propped the axe against the tree and took a long drink of water.

“I— I’m not really sure,” she replied.

She had done her best to mimic the sword skill _Horizontal_ that she’d seen Kirito himself do millions of times. She hadn’t expected it would actually work though.

“Hey Kirito… Do you think that she could swing the sword?” Eugeo asked from her left.

She gave him a confused look. He was sitting on one of the tree’s roots, looking up at the sky thoughtfully.

“Sword…? What sword?” she asked.

“I don’t know… It’s pretty heavy,” Kirito said as he picked up the axe and lined himself up beside the tree.

He took a few quick hacks before dropping the axe back down and turning back to them.

“But if she is a sentinel or a high ranked sword master, she has to try!”

She looked curiously between the two of them.

“Sword…? What sword are you talking about?” she asked.

“Give me a few minutes, I’ll be back,” Eugeo said as he stood up. “Kirito, take my next set of chops for me?”

Kirito paused for a second to give him a quick thumbs up before chopping once more.

She watched Eugeo disappear down the path back towards the village as Kirito finished up.

After a couple of passes back and forth between them, Eugeo came back down the path slowly, a long leather bag hoisted over his back.

When he was close enough to them, he heaved once more and threw it to the ground at their feet. It landed with a dull thud as it sunk into the dirt.

“Are you alright?” she asked as he sank to the ground as well.

He nodded weakly before motioning to the long, slender piece of leather.

She gave him a nod as she bent down to inspect the object.

“Careful—” Kirito said from behind her. “It’s ridiculously heavy, be sure not to drop it on yourself.”

She wondered how it could possibly be that heavy as she wrapped her hand around what she assumed was the hilt. She pulled upwards but found it wouldn’t budge at all. She gave Eugeo a quick glance, he chuckled as he sat down on the tree’s root.

“We told you,” he said with a smirk.

She bent her knees and wrapped her other hand around as well, and with a low grunt she pulled until finally it stood up straight. Doing her best to keep it steady, she unlaced the string, allowing the leather bag to fall to the floor.

She gasped in amazement.

Shining brightly in her hand was one of the most beautiful swords she had ever seen. It was sheathed in a crystal blue scabbard that sparkled in the morning sun. The handle was wrapped in fine white leather, and the cross guard was molded into the shape of leaves and vines, with a bright blue rose planted in the center where it met the blade.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Eugeo asked quietly. “It’s called The Blue Rose Sword… Or at least that’s what it’s called in the stories our elders tell us.”

“What are the stories?” she asked without looking at him.

“Hundreds of years ago, when Rulid was first founded, there was a swordsman named Bercouli. There are many stories about his adventures, but the most famous is called _Bercouli and the White Dragon_. The short version of the story is that Bercouli went exploring in the mountains to the north and wandered into the lair of a great, white dragon. The white dragon helps to protect the Human Realm from the monsters that come from the Dark Territory.”

He gazed up towards the tall mountains to the north before continuing.

“Thankfully the dragon was asleep, and Bercouli was going to leave without disturbing it when he spotted this sword among the treasure, and he decided he must have it. When he picked it up, blue roses and vines wrapped around his legs, causing him to fall over and wake the dragon.”

“What happened next?” she asked eagerly, still in awe of the sword in her hand.

Both boys laughed at her eagerness before Eugeo looked back at her.

“It’s a long story, but he managed to earn the dragon’s forgiveness and it let him leave unharmed,” he said. “But it wouldn’t let him keep the sword.”

He looked down at the ground, his voice cracking as he rubbed his chin.

“It’s just a story, or so we were told. If only three kids hadn’t decided to go and see for themselves.”

The tone of his voice filled the rest of the story in for her. He was referring to what had happened with Alice.

After an awkward silence, he continued.

“Six years ago, me, Kirito, and our friend Alice went into the End Mountains looking for the white dragon. We found no such thing, just a large pile of bones with sword scars all over them.”

She looked over at Kirito, who nodded at her sadly.

“Whoever killed it had no interest in the treasure that it guarded,” he said. “There was a huge pile of coins and jewels around it, along with this sword.

“It was too heavy for us to carry back then, so two years ago we went back to the cave to retrieve it. We were only able to move it a bit at a time because of the weight, so it took us three months to get it here.”

She had more questions but, sensing that Eugeo didn’t want to talk about this anymore, she brought her attention back to the sword.

She grasped the leather handle with her right hand and focused all of her strength before she pulled with all of her might. Miraculously, the sword came free from the scabbard with a satisfying _shhhhing,_ and immediately the tip fell to the mossy ground. She looked down at the blade, it was the same color as the cross guard, and almost translucent.

“It’s not an ordinary blade,” Kirito said, as if he was reading her mind. “It’s not steel or silver, and it’s not dragon bone.”

“In short…” Eugeo interrupted. “We’re pretty sure that it’s a Divine Object. It couldn’t have been forged by human hands. Only a god could’ve created this.”

“Kirito…” she said. “Can you check the Gigas Cedar’s life for me?”

Kirito’s eyes lit up as he realized what she was thinking.

“Of course!” he said excitedly. “I’ve been telling Eugeo the same thing for years, but neither of us could manage to swing it!”

He made the same _S_ symbol as before, bringing up the Stacia Window.

“228,572!” he announced as she dragged the sword over to the tree.

“Remember that number,” she said as she positioned herself.

She focused hard on using the same skill she’d used this morning, and with both hands, she swung with all of her might towards the tree. For a moment she thought she’d done it, but midway through the swing, her arms suddenly felt like they were going to be pulled out of their sockets, and with a yell she let go of the sword and toppled forward.

_RIIING!_

“Ow…” she muttered as she rubbed at her shoulders.

She looked up at Kirito, who’s eyes went wide as he looked at the tree.

She followed his eyes and saw that the sword had still managed to make contact with the tree, and the beautiful blade was stuck in the side of the tree a few feet below the giant gash that the axe had made.

“What the…” Eugeo muttered under his breath as he stood back up, his mouth hanging slightly open.

“Check it’s life!” Asuna yelled quickly.

Kirito ran over to the tree and opened the menu.

“227,901,” he said in amazement. “All in one hit…” 

“…and that wasn’t even a proper swing,” Eugeo said as he walked up behind them. “Imagine if one of us could wield it properly.”

After prying the sword out of the tree and sliding it back into its sheath with Eugeo’s help, they resumed their task for the day. When her turn came, she found that the Dragonbone Axe was light as a feather. She knew that she was on the right track; they absolutely could cut the Gigas Cedar down with the sword. She just had to find a way to meet the sword’s requirements.

When she finished with her set of swings, she went and sat down next to the Blue Rose Sword again. How could she determine what the requirements for the sword were?

Her mouth fell open as she realized the answer.

She just needed to check her own Stacia Window. Using her left hand, she traced the symbol in the air before tapping on the back of her right hand.

The large purple menu sprang to life in front of her once again, but this one had many lines of text. Her durability read _3280/3289_ , she must have lost a few points falling while trying to swing the sword. The second line read, _Object Control Authority: 38,_ and below that _System Control Authority: 1_.

She had enough RPG experience to know that her object control authority must not be high enough, but just how much further did she have to go?

Closing her own window, she reached over and opened the window for the Blue Rose Sword. Directly below it’s durability level, she found exactly what she was looking for. _Class 45 Object._ She was seven levels too short, but how was she supposed to raise it?

She watched as Eugeo finished his set of swings before looking over to her.

“Your turn, Asuna!” he called as he leaned the axe against the tree.

She jumped up to her feet and ran over. Looking down at the axe, all she could do was hope that swinging it would give her avatar the skill it needed. She clenched the axe in her grip before pulling back and swinging once more.

* * *

As the sun set over the mountains to the west, the three finished up their work, and after stashing both the Dragonbone Axe and the Blue Rose Sword away in the shed, they made their way back towards Rulid.

They were about to say their goodbyes for the evening when Sister Azalia approached, a concerned look on her face.

“Good evening Sister,” Eugeo greeted her with a bow.

She returned his smile before frowning at them.

“Is something the matter?”

She hesitated slightly before rubbing her forehead.

“I cannot find Selka,” she said. “She helped me with chores this morning, but I haven’t seen her since. I’m wondering if you’ve seen her.”

“No, we haven’t,” Kirito responded. “Did she say anything that seemed out of the ordinary to you this morning?”

“The only thing that seemed odd to me was that she asked about her sister. In the two years since she started at the church, she’s never once asked about her sister…

“Kirito, Eugeo, you were both close to Alice. Do you have any idea why she would have such sudden interest?”

Asuna thought about the night before, their discussion about Alice and the mysterious eavesdropper. Could Selka have overheard them? Could it have anything to do with her disappearance? She glanced in Kirito’s direction and she could see the gears turning for him as well.

“I don’t…” Eugeo said, rubbing at his chin.

They spoke with her for a few more minutes before reassuring her that Selka would turn up soon, and when she was well out of earshot, they pulled Eugeo to the side.

“Eugeo…” Kirito said as quiet as he could. “She may have gone up to the End Mountains searching for answers about Alice.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Eugeo responded with a nervous laugh. “Why would she even think to go there? She doesn’t even know about what happened…”

Kirito looked at her before hanging his head.

“Does she…?” Eugeo asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Kirito told me about what happened last night,” she said quickly. “Around the time he finished, there was a loud noise outside my door, and somebody ran off. It may have been her.”

Eugeo cast a glare in Kirito’s direction.

“What were you—” he started to yell before Kirito covered his mouth.

“Quiet! We have to go after her,” he whispered.

He looked to Asuna, and she nodded quickly in agreement.

“How far away is the cave you mentioned?” she asked.

“A few hours,” Eugeo said, forcefully breaking Kirito’s grip before marching through the town in the direction of the mountains.

They both fell in line behind him, like two children being scolded.

“But it may not take that long now that we’re older. We don’t have time to prepare anything, but we’ll be by the river the whole way there, so water won’t be a problem. Can you both go a night without food?” he asked without stopping.

They both nodded in agreement as Eugeo picked up his pace.

“If she left this morning, she’s already there. Our only hope is that she’s still wandering the cave and that she hasn’t come out on the other side yet.”

“What will happen if she does come out on the other side?” she asked them softly. “Will an Integrity Knight come and take her immediately?”

“No, they won’t show up until the next morning. That’s what happened six years ago,” Eugeo explained.

She made a mental note of that. That meant they would have time to figure out a plan if a knight did come. While she hadn’t met her, she refused to let Selka share Alice’s fate.

* * *

When they crossed the bridge over the river to the south, they broke into a quick jog, and with only the moon to guide them, within a little over an hour they came to the mouth of a huge cave.

She looked up at the enormous mountains in awe; this was definitely a transition space. The lush green forest gave way to ash colored boulders. She could practically hear Kirito scolding the developers for such a lazy border in the back of her head.

She peered into the cave nervously.

“What are we going to do for light?” she asked.

Eugeo was a step ahead of her already; he picked a long piece of grass from the warm side of the border and held it out in front of him.

“System Call,” he said, causing Asuna to turn her head in shock. “Generate luminous element. Adhere.”

The end of the piece of grass suddenly lit up the space around them for several feet. He started walking into the cave. Kirito followed, waving for her to come with them.

“What was that?!” she asked, jogging to catch up.

“A sacred art,” Kirito responded. “A simple one that anyone can do.”

“But Eugeo, you said, ‘System Call.’ Do you know what that means?”

“What do you mean?” he asked as they continued. “It doesn’t mean anything; it’s just a spell.”

That made sense. He didn’t know that this was a system code, so of course it would seem like magic to him.

“Do you think I could do it too?” she asked.

“It took Eugeo two whole months to learn to do this,” Kirito explained. “And no matter how hard I try, I still can’t. Back then, Alice told us that people with the right talent could master it in a day, while some may never be able to accomplish it.”

“I see…” she murmured.

She thought back to the numbers on her Stacia Window.

_System Control Authority: 1_

That must be what level spells she could use. As her system control authority rose, so would her power level, and it was safe to assume that it took repetition to raise it.

They walked for what seemed like forever before a cold wind blew through the tunnel, and Asuna shivered.

“Are you sure she would’ve come this way?” she wondered.

“Look…” Eugeo said as he pointed down.

A few feet in front of them was a frozen puddle. It had cracks running through the middle, indicating it had been stepped on recently.

Kirito stepped on it gingerly, and it cracked further.

“I wonder how long it’s been since she passed through here?” he asked quietly.

Another breeze came through the tunnel, and with it came a loud high-pitched scream that echoed all around them.

The trio burst into action, feet slipping on the ice as they ran in the direction of the sound. The further they dove into the cave, the more the crisp air began to stink of burning wood and another foul odor that she couldn’t place.

They slid to a halt as they heard loud voices, and the sound of metal clanking.

Orange light flickered on the walls ahead, and as she peeked around the corner, she saw a large circular dome. The dome was filled with large blocks of ice. A small pond of nearly frozen water rested in the middle with a few fires lit around it, and around those fires sat several green creatures that she recognized from other games she had played: goblins.

They stood about as tall as Kirito, and while they hunched over, they were all very muscular. They had abnormally long arms with sharp talons, and they all wore various forms of armor.

For a moment she was relieved; goblins were almost always used as low-level monsters for beginners to practice their skills on. But that relief vanished as soon as one turned and looked her in the eyes.

At first, he looked surprised, but what followed could only be described as joy as he unsheathed a dull machete and cackled.

This goblin wasn’t a program either, she realized. Never had she seen such emotion in the eyes of a computer-generated monster. They had souls too, just like Eugeo. The thought chilled her to the bone. Then the goblin spoke, and her anxiety rose.

“Looky, looky, boys!” he yelled in a shrill voice. “Three more Ium brats!”

The room was filled with screeching laughter before a roar sounded from behind them, causing them all to go silent.

They all split in two directions to make way for a goblin that was three times the size of the others. He must have been their leader.

“We can’t sell the male Iums, kill them, they’ll make a fine meal!” he yelled. “Capture the girl, we’ll take her with the other one!”

The laughter resumed as they all started in their direction.

“What do we do?” Eugeo asked from behind her.

She glanced at the old gear that was scattered along the floor.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” she responded.

She tossed a sword to each of them before finally finding what she was looking for, an old rapier stuck into the ground. She grabbed it with her right hand before pointing it at the goblins.

“We have to fight!” she yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So that's chapter three!  
> I'm so unbelievably sorry that this chapter took so long to come out, a few days after I posted chapter two my car broke down and it was irreparable. With everything going on in the world, I'm working shortened hours at my primary job, so I had to pick up a second job to help fund a new car. The good news is that I was able to finance a brand new car (I got it with like 14 miles on it, it's amazing!), the bad news is I've had to continue working two jobs to fund it until my primary job ramps our hours back up. That has meant a lot of almost 15 hour work days and basically no time to write.  
> With that said, I have absolutely no intention of abandoning this story, I will 100% see it all the way through until the very end, because I *love* this story. It's all that I think about as I work during the day, it's very very dear to me. So while the chapters are going to come out erratically because of my schedule, I promise you they WILL continue to come.  
> I'm not sure when chapter four will come out, but I hope to see you there when it does! Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Ugachi the Lizard Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! In other news fight scenes are DIFFICULT!

She took a few steps back so that she was even with the two boys as the party of goblins approached.

“We have to fight to save her,” she whispered under her breath, “can I count on you to help me?”

Kirito swung his sword back and forth before giving her a firm nod, while Eugeo just held the weapon out in front of him.

“Yes, but… I’ve never swung a sword…” he said quietly, his hands shaking slightly.

“Just swing it like the axe!” Kirito said confidently.

“Exactly, now when they get to about there—” she pointed out to the edge of the small pond “—we’re going to rush them. They won’t expect such a bold move from us, and I’m willing to bet they’ll scatter.”

She tightened her grip on her rapier as the goblins approached.

“If they do, rush through and take out a few of their fires; that will limit everyone’s vision, including ours. The moonlight is only coming into this cave from certain spots, but we’ve also got this,” she said, nodding at the makeshift light in Eugeo’s grasp.

“Once that’s done, I need the both of you to hold off the smaller ones; I’ll focus on the big one—”

She grinned, thinking about how, normally, Kirito would have made a comment about her going into Vice Commander mode. But she didn’t have time to dwell on that as the goblins reached the spot that she had indicated, and, with a roar, the three of them rushed forward.

Just as she expected, the goblins’ eyes went wide with fear. They looked to each other frantically, and that moment of indecision was all Asuna needed to drive her rapier through the heart of her foe. He crumpled to the ground with a cry, and she continued forward.

She looked to either side to see that both boys had been successful as well. Eugeo lowered his shoulder and barreled through the goblin to her left while Kirito swung his sword down on the one to her right, opening a large gash from shoulder to hip. Blood covered Kirito’s front, and he let out a roar.

The other goblins quickly spread out, giving them room to run between them, and Asuna slid across the gravel, dragging her hand behind her to grab the leg of the fire pit the goblins had created. It came tumbling down behind her, and the light around her dimmed.

She spun around; to her left, Kirito had taken out a fire in his area, but she could still see him swinging wildly as three goblins surrounded him; to her right, Eugeo was holding out the blade of grass they had used for light, and, to his surprise, the goblins surrounding him refused to come any closer.

“They’re scared of the light!” he yelled to her over his shoulder. “Go help Kirito!”

With a nod, she spun on her heel and took off in Kirito’s direction. He kicked one goblin to the ground before deflecting another goblin’s swing, he swung horizontally, opening a slash across its body. It crumpled to the ground with a loud wail. He parried the third goblin before jumping back a few steps to give himself some room. But the goblin was relentless, quickly closing the gap and locking their swords together.

The goblin that had been knocked down slowly rose to its feet behind him, and Asuna willed her feet to move faster to reach it before it could take him by surprise. As she approached, she quickly formed a plan.

They’d done this hundreds of times, but with his memories blocked, could she still trust him to not hesitate? The timing would have to be perfect. He gave the goblin he was locked in combat with a quick kick to the midsection, and he was finally free. He glanced at her for a split second.

“DOWN!” she yelled as she leapt towards him.

He dropped his shoulder just in time for her to twist her torso to the left, using his back as a platform to roll over until her free hand met the hard gravel on his other side. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she thrust with all of her might, shoving the old rapier deep into the goblin’s chest with a roar. It let out a surprised scream before crumpling to the ground.

“Nice one!” Kirito yelled over his shoulder as he side-stepped and found his opening.

He slammed his sword down into the goblin’s neck, blood immediately spraying from the wound with a choked gurgle.

“It’s not over yet!” she called back to him.

She scanned her surroundings. There were still five goblins, including the monstrous leader, between her and Selka. Near the entrance of the cave, Eugeo had managed to disarm his foe, and she watched as he drove his sword through the goblin’s stomach. She turned her attention back to the main group.

“Which one of you is next?!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The first row of goblins glanced between themselves and took a few steps back.

“RAAAAAGH!” the captain roared suddenly. “You dare to challenge Ugachi the Lizard Killer, little Ium?!”

The ground beneath her shook as he stepped forward, drawing an enormous machete from his waist. Doubt crept into her mind as he seemed to double in size as he got closer. She pushed that doubt back as far as she could and pointed the tip of the rapier up at him.

“We’re not just going to challenge you; we’re going to kill you!” Kirito yelled as he stepped up beside her, sword at the ready.

She could tell he was reaching his limit. Blood, mostly his enemies’, covered his front, but his own ran down the side of his face from a small wound on his forehead. His breath was ragged, and his knuckles were white from gripping his sword too tight. But despite all of this, his eyes showed nothing but confidence.

He dropped down into his familiar fighting stance and gave her a quick look.

“Together?” he asked with a nod.

“Together.”

With a roar, they both plunged forward towards their larger adversary.

Kirito struck first, swinging his sword with one hand over the top of his head. Ugachi moved to block the strike, leaving himself open to a string of strikes from her rapier. She struck under his right arm, where he was the least protected by his thick armor. He might have been stronger, but she was both quicker and smarter. She’d killed plenty of monsters twice his size back in Aincrad.

The hits landed, but his reaction was quicker than she expected. He brought his right arm back down, smashing the pommel of his machete down into her shoulder, forcing her down to the ground. She quickly jumped back to her feet as Kirito took another horizontal slice against the goblin’s exposed side. The sword met with a satisfying _THUNK_ but it wasn’t enough force to break through the scale armor.

The goblin pushed his left arm out, grabbing onto the front of Kirito’s bloody clothing, and, with a turn, effortlessly tossed him into a pile of rocks to the side. She disengaged quickly to check his condition.

“Ah... man, he’s a tough one…” he muttered out as she reached him.

He reassured her with a tired smile, and she reached her hand out to help him to his feet. She scanned for Eugeo once again. Thankfully, he’d managed to cut down a few of the smaller goblins as they scrambled away from his light.

“Let him come to us,” she said quietly as they turned back around to face him. “Be patient, and wait for an opening; his armor is weak at his joints.”

Kirito nodded silently, stepping off to his left and away from her as they tried to corner him.

The large monster looked between the two of them, seemingly sizing them up to decide who was the bigger threat. When he glanced away, Asuna gave Kirito a quick nod.

He yelled as loud as he could and ran at the goblin, sword raised.

The goblin quickly turned to face him, and Asuna pulled her rapier back to unleash the four-part skill, _Quadruple Pain._ Her rapier glowed bright as the skill started, and the goblin turned quickly to try and block with his machete. He was too slow, and the skill connected with four quick strikes. In Aincrad, this skill came with an immobilizing effect that she hoped would give Kirito the opening he needed.

The goblins eyes flashed with fear for a moment as he froze.

“Switch!” she yelled instinctively.

Kirito swung his sword up and severed the goblin’s left arm at the shoulder. Blood burst from the wound as his arm flew through the air, splashing loudly into the pond nearby. His yellow eyes flashed as he regained control of his body, and he roared.

“GAHHHHH!”

His right arm elbowed Kirito away before swinging forward horizontally.

She shifted her weight as best she could to avoid the sudden attack, but she was unable to evade it completely as the rusty metal cut into her left shoulder. She tumbled backwards with a scream. Her vision went white as all of the nerves in her arm lit up; she felt like she was burning. As her vision returned, she turned her head to look at the wound. Her sleeve was ripped, and a deep cut showed in her skin. She tried to move the arm and yelled again as pain overtook her. There was no way this was a virtual world; it had never hurt like this.

She rolled to look at Ugachi through tear-filled eyes as he wrapped up his wound. He turned to her, his eyes boiling with rage.

“Should catch you; sell you to the slavers,” he said. “But I’ll tear you to pieces for this humiliation!”

He swung his machete up over his head as he approached her. She glanced around quickly; Kirito was nowhere to be seen; Eugeo was busy fighting; Selka was tied to a cart. She had to stand and fight, but her pain-ridden body wouldn’t listen to her command.

Ugachi’s footsteps came to a stop, and she closed her eyes as death came for her.

Instead, she heard sound of clashing metal, she opened her eyes to see Kirito standing over her, sword raised in a blocking stance. He yelled defiantly as his sword cracked, and then shattered.

She screamed as the dull machete broke through his defense and cut through the front of his tunic, his blood spewing everywhere as he toppled backwards.

Ignoring her pain, she jumped up to catch him in her arms.

“Kirito!”

She looked down at his chest; the wound was much worse than hers. It wasn’t deep enough to kill him instantly, but blood pulsed out of the wound with each of his heartbeats. He didn’t have long.

He coughed as she held him in her arms, and his dark eyes were barely focused as he tried to get up to continue the fight.

“Kirito—Kirito stop!” she cried out as he struggled in her arms.

His eyes focused on hers as he coughed again.

“Guess it was my turn…” he struggled to say, his voice just above a whisper. “But he hit…way harder than…Heath…”

He trailed off as he lost consciousness.

Her thoughts ran faster than she could keep up with, and she pressed her face against his chest, ignoring the blood that no doubt covered her face, and listened for his heartbeat. It was faint, but still there.

“Kirito?”

She looked up to see Eugeo stepping up over a pile of rocks. His eyes were wide with fear.

That fear turned to rage as he turned to face Ugachi.

“Eugeo, no!” she yelled as she reached to grab onto his wrist.

He struggled against her grasp, pulling her along a few feet before turning to her.

“Going to kill—Already lost Alice! Can’t lose him—” his words came out in short gasps as he tried to control himself.

“You can’t help him if you’re dead!” she yelled as she shook him in her arms. “Go and wake Selka, can she heal him?!”

“Sh-she might…” he said as tears filled his eyes.

“Eugeo, please go and get her and bring her to Kirito. I’ll take care of him,” she said as she turned to stare into Ugachi’s cold eyes.

Reluctantly, Eugeo did what she said as the goblin snarled and ran towards her.

Ugachi jumped and raised his machete above his head. As it came down, she swung her rapier to the side, starting the basic rapier skill, _Streak._ Her weapon glowed as it swung diagonally, the force sending Ugachi’s blade to the side.

“Argh!” he yelled out as it stuck into the ground.

She pulled her weapon back and struck him in what was left of his left arm; he yelled in pain again.

“Little Ium bitch! Know your place!” he yelled as he pulled the machete out of the dirt and swung it horizontally at her.

She recognized this move from before and knew just the counter. She rolled forward underneath the swing, and, at the end of the maneuver, she stood up and shoved the old rapier up through the side of the monster’s neck. His eyes bulged as he tried to speak, but, with a quick flick of her wrist, she pulled the blade to the side and severed his head from his shoulders.

His body fell to the ground with a loud crash, and she fell to a knee as the pain from before ebbed into her shoulder. With a shaky breath, she shoved it aside and made her way back to Kirito.

Eugeo was huddled over him, and Selka, now awake, looked at him with tears in her eyes.

Asuna quickly made the Stacia symbol and tapped on Kirito’s shoulder, silently praying they had time to save him. His life read _244/3425._

Selka reached her hand out to touch his wound.

“I don’t think my sacred arts are good enough…” she said before letting out a choked sob. She leaned into Eugeo. “This can’t be happening!”

Tears spilled down her cheeks and onto the ground below, and Asuna couldn’t control herself.

“Crying isn’t going to help him! TRY!” she yelled at the girl. “You’re supposed to be the next Sister for Rulid, right?! Aren’t you supposed to take over for Alice?!”

Her shoulders slouched and she cried harder.

“I-I’m not like her!” she wailed. “I can only heal scratches…”

“He came here to save you!” Asuna yelled, louder this time as tears filled her eyes. “He came here to save you, not Alice!”

She watched as Kirito’s life continued to fall. They had minutes at most. Selka suddenly looked up, a determined look in her eyes.

“I’ll have to do something dangerous, so I’ll need both of you!”

Eugeo and Asuna both nodded immediately.

“Anything!” Eugeo said.

“Give me your hands,” she said, reaching out for both of them. “If this doesn’t work, we might all die. Just so you know.”

Eugeo nodded and looked down at Kirito.

“Whatever it takes,” he said quietly.

Selka nodded and closed her eyes.

“System Call!” she yelled out. “Transfer Human Unit Durability, Left to Right!”

Asuna winced as a peculiar sensation took over. Her life felt like it was draining out of the hand that Selka was holding. She looked to Eugeo, who had his eyes shut tight.

_Transfer Durability must allow her to pass life from one person to another_ , she thought to herself.

She was certain that if she opened her window, she would see her life plummeting as Kirito’s increased. Selka must have been the bridge between them, and she hoped it didn’t take too much of a toll on the young girl.

Asuna’s vision started to go blank as more of her life flowed from her body.

“Can you both keep going?” Selka asked under her breath.

“Yes, give him however much he needs,” she responded.

She looked to Eugeo, who’s eyes were now open wide, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“A-Alice…?” he asked quietly.

Her eyes widened and she followed his gaze upwards to see that a golden light had filled the air above them, and her eyes fluttered shut as she fell forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> So, not a whole lot of plot development here, mostly just Kirito and Asuna kicking some goblin ass! 
> 
> Also, this is the first fight scene I've *ever* written, and while I'm satisfied with it I'm certain that I'll do better as this story progresses, but please feel free to leave some constructive criticism! Let me know if there are ways that I can help paint a clearer picture, or help to track the action!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


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